After regular announcements of ACA events, the cohost usually talks about a predetermined topic for about half an hour, then calls are taken from viewers. The calls need not stick to that show's topic, allowing the discussion to wander into many different areas, including what atheism is and what atheists "believe in" (a question usually asked by Christian callers), the difference between atheism and agnosticism, the possibility of secular morality, the scientific viewpoint (especially the validity of evolution and the Big Bang), life after death, and other topics.

Intended mainly as an effort towards community outreach and education, the show is geared largely to a non-atheistic, or at least non-dogmatic, audience. The ACA also sponsors an internet audio program called The Non-Prophets which is geared more toward an atheist audience.

Upcoming and past episodes

A list of upcoming episodes of The Atheist Experience, including scheduled cohosts, can be found at the official website. The site also contains an archive of the last year of episodes in several different digital audio formats, including MP3 and Ogg/Vorbis. A podcast is also available. Video of the show can be found at Google Video and is available for purchase on DVD.